By JACK HEALY

June 24, 2014

DENVER — Bob Beauprez, a buffalo rancher and a former congressman and community banker, defeated three rivals in a crowded Republican primary election on Tuesday to become his party’s choice to take on Colorado’s governor this November, The Associated Press reported.

With about 73 percent of the vote counted, Mr. Beauprez had 31 percent. His closest competitor, Tom Tancredo, also a former congressman, had 26 percent.

For Colorado’s Republicans, it was a victory for pragmatism over populism. While Mr. Beauprez (pronounced beau-PRAY) also beat out Scott Gessler, the secretary of state, and Mike Kopp, an Army veteran and a former state senator, the candidate with the highest profile was Mr. Tancredo, a conservative who had built a national profile for incendiary comments and staunchly opposing illegal immigration.

Despite Mr. Tancredo’s popularity among grass-roots conservatives, anti-immigration activists and some Tea Party enthusiasts, Republicans leaders feared for their party’s chances in November if he had won the nomination. They worried that he was too polarizing and would energize Democrats while alienating the suburban Denver voters whose support is crucial to winning elections in this increasingly blue swing state.

Throughout the primary campaign, Mr. Beauprez, the establishment choice, promoted his experience and organization, arguing that he was the candidate who could beat Gov. John W. Hickenlooper, 62, in November.

That may be, said Katy Atkinson, a Republican political strategist, but she added, “It’s an uphill fight.”

Mr. Beauprez, 65, lost the governor’s race in 2006 by about 15 points to Bill Ritter, a Democrat. Mr. Beauprez has said that he has learned from his mistakes, and argues that, like Peyton Manning after the Denver Broncos’ blowout loss in the Super Bowl, he deserves another shot on the field.

Many analysts say that Mr. Hickenlooper is well positioned to win a second term. He has raised $2.9 million, and now has 20 times as much money on hand as Mr. Beauprez, according to state campaign-finance data.

Mr. Beauprez and other conservatives have said they will attack Mr. Hickenlooper on crime and justice issues like his decision to grant a reprieve to Nathan Dunlap, one of the three men on Colorado’s death row. As Mr. Dunlap’s execution date for killing four people approached in May 2013, Mr. Hickenlooper gave him a temporary reprieve, sparing his life but potentially raising the issue again when a new governor takes office.

In another primary for governor, in Maryland, Anthony G. Brown, the lieutenant governor, defeated Doug Gansler, the attorney general; Heather Mizeur, a state delegate; and three other challengers for the Democratic nomination to succeed Gov. Martin O’Malley. Larry Hogan, a businessman, won the Republican primary over three rivals.

Term limits prevented Mr. O’Malley, a Democrat, from running for re-election, and he has backed Mr. Brown. Analysts say a victory for Mr. Brown, who would be Maryland’s first black governor, would validate Mr. O’Malley’s tenure and bolster him if he seeks the Democratic nomination for president in 2016.